Volunteer in Downtown Cleveland This Spring!
By Ian Meadows
April 25, 2025
Looking to make new friends, give back in your community, and have some fun all at the same time? Look no further than this lineup of spring volunteer opportunities in downtown Cleveland! Whether you prefer rolling up your sleeves in a park or supporting a local nonprofit indoors, there’s something for everyone to enjoy and get involved with!
Check out Downtown Cleveland, Inc.’s round-up of ways to volunteer downtown this spring with us and our partners.
Spruce Up the Square with the Downtown Cleveland Green Team
Public Square
The Downtown Cleveland Green Team is a volunteer group led by Downtown Cleveland, Inc. that keeps downtown’s public spaces spruced-up and beautiful, while helping with various events. Consisting of community volunteers, the group assists in downtown beautification efforts and local experiences. You can participate as often as you’d like, with no set commitment!
Spruce Up the Square is an hour-long weekly volunteer series every Sunday morning at Public Square. Help beautify Cleveland's central gathering space with a variety of tasks including pruning, trimming, weeding, litter removal, and more as necessary.
Join us at Spruce Up the Square every Sunday, May-October, from 11am-12pm.
Learn more about the Green Team and sign up to volunteer here!
Keep Perk Plaza Pristine for RiverSweep
Perk Plaza (1717 E 12th St)
Started in 1989, RiverSweep is a one-day litter cleanup hosted by Canalway Partners that focuses on protecting the Cuyahoga River by removing garbage from the Cuyahoga River watershed.
Join Downtown Cleveland, Inc. on Saturday, May 3rd to help spruce up Perk Plaza (1717 E. 12th Street) from 9-11am as part of this community-wide initiative. This will help prepare the park for the start of Downtown Cleveland's Food Truck Series, featuring Walnut Wednesday at Perk Plaza!
Plant in Front of the Cleveland Public Library
Cleveland Public Library - Main Library (325 Superior Ave)
Calling all green thumbs and book lovers! Help transform the Cleveland Public Library's Superior Avenue with native plants on Saturday, May 3rd anytime between 10am-2pm (maybe even stop by after RiverSweep at Perk Plaza). The People's University is turning 100, and your help is needed to dress it up for the party! Join CPL as they transform the tree planters along Superior Avenue with beautiful Ohio native plants and herbs that will welcome visitors to their centennial celebration on May 10th.
Master gardeners will be on site to guide volunteers through the planting process. You'll get your hands a little dirty while learning about native Ohio plants, urban ecology, and how these green spaces contribute to our downtown environment.
Register by emailing marina.marquez@cpl.org or calling (216) 902-4910
Build the North Coast Yard Lakefront Pop-Up
North Coast Yard (515 Erieside Ave)
Image credit: North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation
Cleveland’s North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation (NCWDC) is launching North Coast Yard – a pop-up lakefront public space opening this summer on the city-owned lot next to the Steamship Mather, north of Huntington Bank Field. This project is a key step in creating a vibrant, equitable waterfront that connects people with nature and the city, building on the community vision established in the North Coast Master Plan. This seasonal project will activate our lakefront with engaging programming, local food and drinks, and plenty of space to just relax and enjoy the view.
Let’s pull out our paintbrushes and roll up our sleeves – together – as we work to build the yard during Community Build Week, June 9th – 15th. Mark your calendars, and stay updated on additional information and sign-ups here!
Inspire Young Readers at the Kids’ Book Bank
Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank (3635 Perkins Ave)
Image credit: Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank
The mission of the Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank is to foster literacy and a love of reading by distributing free books to children through collaboration with community partners. Their community bookshelves initiative puts free books in public spaces, so children and families have access to free books in the neighborhoods where they live, work, and go to school, among many other important initiatives.
Downtown Cleveland, Inc. is excited to partner with the Cleveland Kids’ Book bank throughout our downtown programming, and we encourage volunteers to get involved with this great organization.
Join the RedCoats at Playhouse Square
Playhouse Square (1501 Euclid Ave)
Image credit: Playhouse Square
RedCoats are the face of Playhouse Square, the nation’s second largest performing arts district, and to the one million plus guests who attend more than one thousand shows each year.
RedCoats gain new friends, satisfaction for contributing to the performing arts, pride in Cleveland and Playhouse Square, and complimentary parking for events. Volunteers are assigned to work a certain day/evening with an average of 4-5 hours per assignment. Duties include greeters, ticket scanners, ushers, wheelchair escorts and general event related positions.
Learn more and fill out an interest form here to become a RedCoat!
Be a Library Shop Ambassador
Library Shop (424 Superior Ave)
Image credit: Cleveland Public Library
The Library Shop is a new collaborative space between Cleveland Public Library and its Foundation. CPL aims to reach new audiences, feature library collections, and spotlight local entrepreneurs through a storefront across the street from the Main Library downtown. Proceeds generated support library programs and amplify its impact.
A great new way to welcome guests to our city, downtown, and our library is to greet customers with enthusiasm and good customer service in The Library Shop. After training, practice, and getting to know local entrepreneurs whose work is featured in the Shop, you’ll be ready to be an ambassador in the Shop and engage new audiences in the Library!
Promote Our City with Destination Cleveland
Destination Cleveland (334 Euclid Ave)
Looking for fun ways to promote Cleveland? Now’s your chance to join in thanks to a myriad of opportunities with Destination Cleveland and other local civic organizations to showcase the very best of our city to out-of-towners, locals, potential visitors and future residents.
As always, stay up-to-date on all the latest downtown events and information at DowntownCleveland.com, follow along with Downtown Cleveland, Inc. on social media, and sign up for our email newsletter!